So after my failed attempt at repair (Heck im an engineering technician and these tv's ... they are beyond normal logic circuits...) me and the wife sat down and decided, nope we can't live without the tv.
So.. on the way is a nice shiny brand new....
61" LED DLP HDTV
with a new player....
Blu-ray
This might delay the camaro purchase by about 2 months.. but with the intervening time between already looking like late 09... whats another couple of months..